Trinidad And Tobago Seeks Passage Of FATCA Law

Legislation to ease Trinidad and Tobago financial institutions' compliance with the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) is currently being held up.

FATCA, enacted by the US Congress in 2010, is intended to ensure that the US obtains information on accounts held abroad at foreign financial institutions (FFIs) by US persons. Failure by an FFI to disclose information on their US clients will result in a requirement to withhold 30 percent tax on payments of US-sourced income.

The territory's Government said it had failed to receive approval for the legislation because opposition political party members had raised concerns that the legislation would allow the Minister of Finance access to confidential financial information.

The Government said it is seeking to resolve the matter by holding discussions with the opposition. It affirmed that the legislation has not changed since it was proposed by the former Government in 2013 and only the Board of Inland Revenue will have access to private information for tax reporting purposes.

The Government is pushing for the passage of the legislation before the end of the 2015/16 parliamentary session on September 22.

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